After she left, I was given a second chance at life thanks to my savior and adoptive father. A chance I refused to waste. Determined to be invincible, I became a true fighter in every sense of the word. Nothing and no one would get in my way.

Not even the guy who sat behind me in class.

Zack Graves had the entire world in his hands. A promising hockey career and the confidence and gorgeous looks that had every girl throwing themselves at his feet.

Except me. I was only too happy to wipe the sexy smirk off his face while tossing him on his smug ass.

And he kept coming back for more.

I kept my scars hidden, until Zack managed to trace the lines straight to a place I fought to keep guarded.

Zack was fighting his own immortality, his own scars becoming visible the closer we got. He challenged my guard at every turn forcing me to fight harder, only to realize he would be my undoing.

But some wounds refuse to heal.

| Book Review |

I’m someone who rarely reads debut authors. To be honest, they make me nervous because I just don’t know what to expect. But I couldn’t resist Desiree Adele’s debut, Sweet Insanity. I’ve seen her review books on Unbound Book Reviews, and she gravitates to hard hitting books that move you. I had a feeling her offering would be no different, and I was right. This book was full of emotion and had characters battling inner demons that would be enough to bring anyone to their knees.

By the time we catch up with big man on campus Zack Graves, he’s over it. He wants something more even keeled and meaningful (as we discover as the book goes on,) and when Dahlia comes into his life like a whirlwind, he’s found it.

I loved both characters in this book, but it was really Zack, just by who he was, who stole my heart. The simple moments in life made him so happy, and I loved that about him. Dahlia really made him work for it, though not purposefully, and he did that effortlessly. There was no bitterness, no ill will…he pushed for what he knew she was capable of giving, but he did it without ever rushing her. He was so gentle with her, and it was something he just did and was. It wasn’t even anything he had to try to do. But on the other hand, he also wasn’t afraid to get in her face and tell her how things were. When he realizes this is a woman who needs to be pushed to react or show emotion, he steps right up to the challenge. But in the end, he was all about Dahlia’s choices. Even when those choices break his heart, he respects them.

Dahlia had so many emotional scars, and it would take someone like Zack with so much patience to pull back all the layers. She just wasn’t used to ‘good’ things, but man Zack worked to get her there. They offset each other so perfectly in this way; they were opposite and fiery, but when push came to shove, they were there for each other and wouldn’t let each other go. And what I really love is that when Dahlia goes in, she really goes all in and puts it outhere. There was no cat and mouse game, nor should there have been. That just wasn’t her character. I will say that there was a point near the end where Zack said some things, and I was so mad at him. But he was breaking his own heart to get to Dahlia’s, and damn if it didn’t make me love him even more. The theme of this book, that you don’t have to be ‘fixed’ to find love was so well done, and I think, so important. There is no shame in someone helping you get there; just because you don’t go the hard road alone doesn’t mean you don’t get to claim your emotional victories. And just because it takes you a long time to get there doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to have good things along the way.

Sweet Insanity is not your typical NA book; you’re not going to pick it up and think ‘Oy, I’ve read this before.’ But if you enjoy the genre, you are going to love this book! I sure did.

It really can be repetitive. I need a bit of lightness to my NA stories, and not all authors attempt that with such heavily damaged characters – which they ALL seem to be in NA I hope you get a chance to check this one out!